Degrees Of Honor The Honor Series Book One

Chapter five

I made a point of meeting Cassie, the Colonel's lovely and naïve daughter. I tested the older Marine that had been so close to my Uncle and saw just how loyal the Colonel was to the woman he had claimed as his daughter. I hadn't planned on getting involved with her, but it was so tempting and she was so gullible. The fact that John had let his daughter distance herself from him the way she had made it even better. He did nothing to keep her loyal, and close to her family. It made installing her into my plan impossible to resist.

She had allowed me into her life without hesitation. The poor thing was bored and looking for some excitement in her life. The Colonel held her reins a little too tight and she was anxious to break free from his control. I moved in, took control of the ignorant woman, and little by little, let Cassie know who was giving the orders now. She obeyed, most of the time, at least until she got pregnant.

Although there was no blood relation between us, this was a BIG mistake. My temper eventually got the better of me, when Cassie questioned my rules and tried to get her own freedom. I wasn't going to stand for that. I had a plan and she was a big part of it. But I made a mistake and got into a fight, putting me in the brig.

When she visited me the single time in the jail and told me about the baby, I ordered her to have an abortion, she had the gall to refuse me. Then she ran away. She actually thought she could escape me. Not that I could do much from inside my cell but I tracked her every time she moved, every new place, every step. I knew exactly where she was.

Now I'm ready to get out. And it's time Cassie gets punished for disobeying my command. She will pay the most for what she's done. She turned back on her parents and the Colonel lost track of her. I didn't. Cassie may have escaped my hold for the moment but not for long. She is on the run, in the beginning she had her father's assistance, but eventually even John McAfferty was shut out of the loop. Now she's all alone waiting for me.

I could have found her long before now if the little tramp hadn't caused me to get into this hellhole. It was her fault I had gone to the bar in the first place. I never would have gone if she had done as she was told. Cassie was constantly testing my patience. I tried to ignore her games she played. I knew it was her way of rebelling against my demands. She just didn't understand, my demands were her orders, orders I expected her to follow.

Yes, Cassie had caused me trouble, even when she wasn't around. At the bar that night, I was minding my own business, talking to some fellow Marines when one mentioned Cassie and her father. Apparently, the man idolized the wrong Colonel, and didn't understand the code of the Marine Corps. It was my duty to set him straight. When the man refused to listen, I had no choice but to make my point as clear as possible. Colonel McAfferty and his daughter were scum and didn't deserve the respect given to them. The fight was all her fault, her and her fathers.

I made the first steps to get back my freedom though. With a little help from the Colonel, I would get a promotion when I receive my freedom. I will see to it, the Colonel does everything possible to help me further my career. The last thing the man wanted was for his wife and daughter to find out the truth about that fateful night, much less what a court martial would do if they found out he had killed a man.

Once the Colonel makes the connection to me, I'll have the means necessary to make everything I want to happen. Rolling to my side, my back to the cell door, I close my eyes. My plan playing out in my head. Cassie will soon pay for everything her father had done.

Travis

I waited until I heard the bedroom door upstairs close before I stopped what I was doing. Resting my head on the handle of the mop, I banged it against my forehead a couple of times. What was I thinking? I'm not thinking that is the problem. I had let a physical attraction get the best of me. I almost blew my cover. She is a beautiful woman. I almost let that get in the way of my job.